Post on 03-Apr-2020
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Building international academic programsfrom Europe to America
the ISA lab programme
Process, Improvisation, Holarchic Learning Loops and all that JazzExperiences in Transdisciplinary Education for Sustainable Development
HACU 33rd Annual ConferenceChicago October 2019
Pr.Dr. Juan Miguel Martínez-RubioAss.Pr.Dr. Javier Orozco-Messana
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
MotivationInter- and transdisciplinary approaches and opportunities are recognised as critical for sustainability teaching and learning
(Coops et al., 2015; Byrne & Mullally, 2016)
AimGive students an inter and transdisciplinary experience in finding
sustainability oriented solutions to real problems across the Valencia [Spain] Community
Design Challenge – Integration & CoordinationGlobal: Europe, North and South America and Asia
Disciplinary: Sus Dev, Chem Eng, Energy, Built Environ, Arch, Green Infrastructure Law,
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
An emergent holarchy in Valencia
Case study sourcing& workshop framework
Workshop content and case study support
Case study analysis & deliverables
Inspired by holarchic ecosystems model proposed by Kay et al. (1999) and panarchic model (Holling et al. 2002))
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Real problems…
Benicalap, Valencia• Low income neighbourhood
bounded by a busy highway• Historic building (Casino del
Americano)• Public park/gardens which had
potential
Tabarca Island, off Alicante• Popular island destination in
summer but with low winter trade
• Old lighthouse and building available for development
• Environmentally sensitive area
How could areas be sensitively developed as an amenity… within an overall ‘sustainability’ ethos, while considering a mix of environmental,
social, economic and technical dimensions?
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
The framework – a daily structure
OBJECTIVES DEFINED
•Set the tone of the sessions
•Make the daily tasks clear
•Manage expectations of students and faculty
STIMULATION PROVIDED
Faculty introduce new ideas & disciplines:• Problem
framing• Carbon
Capture Tech• Planning• Design• Energy
infrastructure
CASE STUDY WORK &
SUPPORT
Students to take lead in defining and refining the brief and their repsonseFaculty providing support through facilitation
REFLECTION
Students asked to reflect on aspects of the experienceStaff reflected on progress and context, adjusting presentation delivery
9 AM 5 PM
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Improvisation as a metaphor
‘We don’t micromanage in jazz. ..if I want the music to get to a certainlevel of intensity, ..the best way for me to it is to listen’ and in doing this ‘you engage and inspire the other musicians – and they give you more and gradually it builds’
Steffon Harris, TEDSalon, 2011
Influence on: -Student interactions & design process-Staff interactions & workshop emergence
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Listening and
adapting
Adjusting aims and objectives
of each session / day
Flexible approach to
group support
Sense making & reflecting on
process
Reviewing pre-designed
presentations
Examples of staff ‘jazz’ in practice
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
How the week progressed…
Daily objective 9-111130-1300Working Session A
1500-1700Working Session B
Evening Activity/ Task
Mon Meet greet & settle Faculty coordination and workshop design and development
Introduce tasks and
groups
Evening meal task & reflection
Tue Creativity EB/NO Ice-breaker & ideas
Assessing success Reflection
Wed Set goals & evaluate concepts DM/KH
Detailed case work w/ local
experts
Clustering ideas and refining
concepts
Group brainstorms on
presentation style
Thurs Refine the design SN & AMC Continue design and presentation development
Fri Prepare & deliver Work continues Deliver presentations Workshop reflection
OBJECTIVES DEFINED
STIMULATION PROVIDED (9-11)
CASE STUDY WORK & SUPPORT(11-5) REFLECTION
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
‘No transdisciplinarity without disciplinarity!’1
1- In: Byrne et al (2016), Transdisciplinary perspectives on transitions to sustainability, p. 6 (Routledge), citing Nicolescu, B (2010) Transdisciplinary J of Engineering & Science, 1
(1), p. 22
Image Credit: Marisa Henry Carlota
Hernandez Martin Irene Ovejas Casas Sahil Karambelka
Image Credit: Giorgia Puccinelli Hector Muñoz Jörg Winter Sanaj Mehta
• Evidence of contribution from each of the participants
• Attention to individual disciplinary contributions e.g. Energy, water, waste,..
• Engagement with feasibility, cost, safety, etc. & sustainability credentials
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Evidence of disciplinary integration
• Attempts to integrate and build on each others perspectives e.g. conceptual & systems maps, multifaceted solutions
• Adoption of ideas and principles from the presentations. e.g. 7 Qs, Green Infrastructure
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Stakeholder engagement & empathy
• Recognising the role of stakeholders in tackling complex challenges
• Engaging in the projects from a beneficiaries perspective
• Imagination and stepping beyond disciplinary constraints
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
Student reflections - Creativity“The TED talk video played during one of the afternoon sessions resonated strongly with me and I thought that it was very useful in helping us build on top of each other’s ideas instead of simply discarding them as ‘wrong’ or ‘outlandish’”
Student reflections - leadership“I also think that the faculty did a good job of supervising our team work without narrowing down the scope of our brainstorming sessions”“We were all leaders at different stages of the workshop and that worked very well for me”
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
What did we (re)learn?
The value of – exposure to a variety of perspectives– structure to foster creativity & integration
Open challengesHow to create space for creativity & interdisciplinarity in already packed curricula?• How well does this experience prepare people for delivering SD in
practice?
Universitat Politècnica de Valènciawww.upv.es
jaormes@cst.upv.es
www.upv.es